Driving home last night, I noticed twilight had fallen a bit earlier than the week before. How did that happen?! I'm clutching at Summer's pant legs with desperate longing and wild promises of never eating two desserts again if only the warm and golden nights would stay just a little longer. But Fall is waiting in the wings, and soon it will be dark both early and late. So, as a last homage to summer, I made this reflective bandana for our doggies so we can walk in the gathering dusk in style and safety.

Our bandana is sized for a dog with an 18-21" neck. I made the ties longish, because I thought they looked cool and floppy, matching my hound's ears. You can adjust for your dog, and his ears, by lengthening or shortening the length of your tie strip. Measure the dog's neck and add approximately 11-12" for standard ties, 22-24" for floppy ties. If you have a smaller dog, you should reduce both the size of the square and the ties. The diagonal measurement of the bandana should be about the length of your dog's neck plus 1" for seams.

We made our bandana from scraps, because you need just a 16" x 16" square and a 4" x 31-44" strip.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome JNH1860)

Fabric and Other Supplies

• ONE 16" x 16" fabric scrap square for the bandana: we used Pillow & Maxfield's Pretty Bird from Michael Miller Fabrics in Blue Bloomies
  NOTE: If you have enough fabric, cut the square on the bias
• ONE 4" x 31-44" strip for the tie: we used Pillow & Maxfield's Pretty Bird from Michael Miller Fabrics in Moss Garden Stripe
• 1 yard of 3M Sew On Reflective Tape or similar
  NOTE: Sew-on is better than stick-on; stick-on tends to peel off along the edges with wear and tear and if you try to stitch it down, the adhesive will gum up your needle.
• All purpose thread in colors to match fabric and reflective tape
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Straight pins

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. Fold the bandana square diagonally to form two triangles (and to get a bias drape). Cut in half along the fold.
2. Place the two triangles right sides together.
3. Pin and stitch both sides, using a ½" seam allowance and pivoting at the point of the triangle.
   
4. Trim off the corner at the point, being careful not to clip into your seam. Turn right side out and press well.
5. Trim off the corners of the seam allowance so the top raw edges of the bandana are flush.
6. Press the strip in half lengthwise, right sides together.
7. Trim both ends of the strip at a diagonal. I trimmed one end one direction and the other the opposite direction. Why? I dunno; I thought it looked cool. You could do them both the same.
8. Fold both the bandana and the strip in half to find their center points. Mark each center point with a pin.
   

Attaching the reflective tape

1. Pin the reflective tape in place approximately 3/8" from the edge of the bandana. Make a neat pleat at the point of the bandana. Trim tape flush with the top of the bandana at both top corners.
   
2. Re-thread your machine with thread to match the tape in the top and thread to match the fabric in the bobbin.
3. Edgestitch the tape in place along both sides, pivoting at the point. Press from the back side.
   NOTE: We couldn't find any manufacturer instructions regarding ironing the reflective tape, and so erred on the side of caution and ironed only from the back through the fabric.
   

Measuring and attaching the tie strip

1. Line up the marking pins for the center of the tie strip and the center of the bandana.
2. Pin the raw edges of the tie strip, stopping at each top corner of the bandana. You will leave this center section of the tie strip open so you can later insert the bandana.
   
3. If necessary, re-thread your machine with thread to match the fabric in both the top and bobbin.
4. Using a ¼" seam allowance, stitch from one end of the tie, pivoting at the diagonal corners and stopping and back tacking at the first pin marking the tie opening.
5. Remove the bandana from the machine and realign it to start again at the second pin marking the tie opening. Resume your ¼" seam allowance, stitching the remainder of the tie to the opposite corner.
6. Clip the corners and turn the tie right side out. Poke out the diagonal corners on each end so they are as sharp as possible.
7. Press the strip well, folding in and pressing the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with the sewn seam.
8. Slip the top raw edge of the bandana into the tie strip's opening. You only need to slide it in about ¾ - 1". Pin in place.
   
9. Edge stitch around all four sides of the tie to reinforce the entire tie and close the opening.

Reflective tips on the ends of the ties

1. Re-thread the machine again with thread to match the reflective tape in the top and thread to match the tie strip in the bobbin.
2. Cut a small strip of reflective tape to match the diagonal ends of the tie strip. Pin these strips to ONE side of each tie end.
3. Edgestitch the reflective tape in place around all four sides to hold it in place. Then, stitch an 'X' through this box to reinforce.
   
4. Tie on your doggie and go for a walk in the starry summer twilight... while it lasts.
   

Contributors

Project Design: Alicia Thommas Sample Creation: Liz Johnson

Other machines suitable for this project include the Brother NX-450 and the Baby Lock Espire.

Comments (9)

m said:

...

November 23, 2011

LCO said:

... Awww, please let the doggie know I think he's super cute as well! My siblings and I had an Australian cattle dog as teenagers (my favorite dog I've ever had), and my sister has an Australian cattle dog now. The have such pretty markings!

August 25, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Hi LCO ... good ID there! Yep, that's Kramer, he's an Australian Blue Healer. He was very excited you thought he was super cute... I explained it was the bandana you thought was super cute, but he's not giving in. Thanks!

August 17, 2010

LCO said:

... Super cute and a great idea! Is the dog in the first photo an Australian cattle dog?

August 17, 2010

Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

... Thanks for pic, tstandha ... and it looks like you've already inspired someone else . Way to "pass it on"!!

August 17, 2010

Sarah Jayne said:

... Love the dog and bone material, this is going in my projects to do folder, thanks x

August 17, 2010

tstandha said:

... Thanks for the idea!!!

August 16, 2010

tstandha said:

... Saw this on Thurs, made it on Friday for a doggy's first birthday party on Friday night! Used sticky reflective tape from the local hardware store; no problem that couldn't be cleaned up with a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to clean the needle. http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4Cjh2pE2...andana.jpg

August 16, 2010

akzamudio said:

... Love this idea of putting the reflective tape on the bandana! Well done!

August 12, 2010

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